Julia Child's French Onion Soup and a recipe for food processor French bread

The onion soup recipe is super cheap to make.  A few big onions (I didn't go for the high-priced ones) and some broth and you're good to go.  I used 1/2 chicken broth and 1/2 beef broth, both purchased on sale.  The wine is from an open bottle in the fridge. (Pinot Grigio).  Keep some chilled white vermouth on hand for recipes. This recipe takes some time, so plan on reading a newspaper or book in the kitchen.  As always, set a timer.

French Onion Soup

 


The French bread recipe I've been making for years.  I bought a pan at Amazon that holds two loaves and it has been a stalwart.  You need a quick read thermometer to get the water temperature right, and there are ten minutes of intense activity during which you can't leave the kitchen, and after that, it's incredibly easy.  I used two timer's for the bread and three would have been even better.  With supermarket bread prices in the stratosphere, this is a good recipe to master.  
What comes out of the oven is  unbelievable, especially for the small amount of effort.  I have another recipe (focaccia) I will share after I've tried it.   Over the holidays I stocked up on flour on sale.  Broth, too.      

Food processor French Bread  

Kitchen tools such as quality pots and pans, timers, thermometers are necessities rather than luxuries, and will save you ruining expensive ingredients.  They easily pay for themselves over time.  We will eat the soup and bread for two days.  I'll serve a green salad and make a fruit salad for dessert.  

I have Swiss cheese to melt on toasts for the final assembly of the soup, but Parmesan will do as well.  Of course, the toasts will be made from my newly baked bread.  It would make wonderful French toast, too.  

By the way, if you have a couple of overripe bananas, they can be mashed and put into pancakes or waffles.  You can also freeze over-ripe bananas in their skins.  When you have three, make banana bread.  Always use three bananas for banana bread.  Two is not enough.  A handful of raisins or blueberries are also a good addition to banana bread.  Pack a lot of nutrition into all  your meals for taste and health. 

Aloha, 

The Cheeseparer

                                                          

Cheap Meals for Winter Evenings

We had one pork chop, and it wasn't huge, but I sauteed it with a little Sezchuan pepper.  Cooked a cup of rice.  Scrambled an egg without stirring, so it was nice and flat.  Found two slices boiled ham in the fridge.  Here we go! 


Stir fry is the next best thing to "soup from a nail."    I had some scallions, fresh ginger (I keep it around) and a little bit of baby spinach.  We always have a bag of frozen peas in the freezer.  I keep soy sauce and sesame oil around, too.  I bought a box of mushrooms and divided them in two for separate meals.  Sauteed everything including the rice.  Topped it off with a handful of almonds for crunch.

You shred the egg with 2 forks into little pieces.  The dish is colorful. 

The interesting thing is that every bite had some meat which I had cut into small squares.  If I hadn't had spinach, I would have used a crown of broccoli.   There were plenty of leftovers for lunch.


Tonight we had Swiss steak, which I used to make all the time when the kids were little.  I had some round steak, an onion, the rest of the mushrooms, an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and some herbs.  Cheap ingredients!  I used oregano, marjoram and a little smoked paprika for the spices.  Oh, and 2 garlic cloves.  Pounded the meat and dipped it into flour.  

In Paris at the Pompidou Museum

We ate it with lots of Brussels sprouts and some noodles which sopped up the sauce.  I used to braise it, but I put tonight's Swiss steak in the oven to bake.  


Tomorrow we're having French onion soup and I'm baking a baguette and have some Swiss cheese to make the soup in the traditional way.  Many years ago, in Paris, we wanted a late night snack and we each ordered a bowl of soup and a Croque Monsieur.  Enough, easily, for four people, maybe six. 


I'll publish my onion soup recipe tomorrow. 
This is the month to buy bed sheets and linens.  Also, pick up any needed cards, wrapping paper, and ornaments.  We've done this for years, and I always had a tradition of hitting the sales on the 26th.  This year, we were racing from New York back to New England before the blizzard.  You can still get very nice Christmas tablecloths at rock bottom prices.  How nice to have a fresh one for the 2011 holidays. 


Pare  yourself some cheese! 

The World's Best Macaroni and Cheese

This dish is complimented by a green salad, and doesn't cost much to make.  The taste and the lovely crumb topping can't be beat.  If your January feels cold and bleak, make this recipe. 


World's Best Macaroni and Cheese  


 For dessert, use a pie crust from the dairy case and make a free form tart with blueberries (on sale, of course), mixed with sugar,  instant tapioca, a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg and dotted with butter.   Brush the crust with an egg beaten with a little milk.  This gives you a lot of bang for the buck. 


January is a hard month, with all the Christmas bills coming due.  Clip coupons and watch  your grocery bill.  Turn down the heat a bit.   Find some cheap but decent restaurants.   A  quiche makes a tasty dinner.    We like spinach and broccoli.   The classic "Lorainne" is hard to beat.   Find some turkey kielbasa on sale and make up a big dish of sauerkraut and kielbasa.   Add some boiled or mashed potatoes and you're golden.  Do eat some fresh fruit everyday.  This morning we had glasses of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.  So tasty and refreshing. 


 The Cheeseparer

2 Frosting recipes for Holiday or Other Baking

Neither of these will break the bank.  Easy enough for a beginning cook, both recipes are ancient.  


2-3-4 Frosting:
2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons cream
4 Tablespoons sugar


Place ingredients in a double boiler and heat over hot water until near boiling and sugar is melted.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and powdered sugar to desired consistency.  


Lucille's cinnamon Butter Icing 

4 Tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
hot water
chopped nuts (if desired)


Heat butter in top of double boiler over hot water.  Add cinnamon and sugar; add small about of hot water slowly until icing is the right consistency for spreading.  After spreading on cake, bars or bread, sprinkle with chopped nuts.  This would be yummy on banana, cranberry or blueberry breads.    


Holiday  baking can be expensive, so start looking for sales in mid-November.  Butter can be frozen.  Keep nut meats in the fridge or even the freezer.  Wal-Mart had Gold Medal Flour for an unbelievable price this week. Chocolate chips are frequently on sale.   Save up coupons for dairy products, baking products and even waxed paper and baking parchment.   You should be able to cut your baking costs by these simple but frugal acts.  


My most important kitchen tip is to prepare the right amounts of food so as not to waste.  If you need to freeze leftovers, make sure to label them well with contents and date  and to use in a timely manner.  


We have discovered Dr. Oetker's frozen pizzas which are absolutely delicious but rather costly.  We have also collected coupons for them and waited for store specials.  With a store sale and a coupon, you are golden. 


 Remember that normally, your home-baked goods will be tastier, cheaper and more nutritious than store-bought.
 That being said, we bought a wonderful open-faced apple-cranberry tart and Trader Joe's this week for $6 and change.  We did this rather than stop for dessert.  It made six servings and was really good.  Everything is relative. I could have cooked it for a little less, but when time is of the essence, learn to make good choices.

My Grandma, she of the 2-3- 4 frosting, and me in Kansas eons ago

The Cheeseparer

Barley, a cheap nutricious food

This week I made herb-basted chicken and barley with root vegetable pilaf.  This was hearty fare that we got three meals out of with three (big) chicken breast halves.  Never expected to have it stretch so far for two people. 
I used onion, carrot, parsnips and butternut squash for the veggies and used about 2 cups instead of 1 1/2.  Used fresh thyme from the garden but substituted my own dried rosemary for fresh.  Stuck in a garlic clove for the hell of it.  The bacon really perked the barley up!  Root vegetables are cheap and the chicken breasts were on sale for a good price. 
A one pound bag of barley (did not by the fancy organic)  has a lot of mileage in it, and my next barley meal will be a vegetable beef soup with barley, also cheap with a lean cut of beef, more root vegetables and the barley, of course. 


In case you're salivating already, here is the recipe: Herb Basted Chicken with Pearl Barley, Bacon and Root Vegetable Pilaf



Winter demands hearty fare.  Soup is wonderful.  Eat more soup.

Yummy Hors d'oeuvres - Rum Sausages

For those of you who eat pork,  this recipe is a keeper.  The Brown and Serve Sausages  can often be found on sale, but don't buy the cheapest brand.  Any old rum will do.  Yar!  


Rum Sausages


1 pound package brown and serve sausages
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce  ( I use the reduced salt variety)
1/2 cup golden rum ( or any rum) 


Mix sugar, soy sauce and rum.  Brown sausages on one side, turn and cut into thirds.  Cover with rum mixture and summer, turning sausages occasionally so they absorb the sauce.  May be made ahead and reheated.  Serve with toothpicks. 


This recipe is from my mom and is nice around the holidays. 

Christmas Cookies revisited

The Basic Butter Cookie recipe from my mother, a master baker who loved anything with a sugar molecule in it.

Butter Cookies

2 sticks butter (I always use unsalted)

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon vinegar

½ teaspoon soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

Cream together the sugar abd butter.  Add the other ingredients and mix.  Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet and bake for twenty minutes at 300 degrees F.

Chopped nuts (pecans would be good) can be added if you like.